PBS’ ‘P.O.V.’ Airs Film on HIV/AIDS in South Africa
PBS' "P.O.V.," a showcase for independent non-fiction films, tonight will air "State of Denial," which profiles six HIV-positive people in South Africa who encounter "social stigma, a severe lack of access" to HIV/AIDS medications and South African President Thabo Mbeki's "controversial stance" on the connection between HIV and AIDS. The program's companion Web site includes an article by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power on Zackie Achmat, the HIV-positive head of the South African AIDS treatment advocacy group Treatment Action Campaign. The article, which was originally published in the New Yorker in May 2003, is available online. The Web site also includes a selection of columns from the Sowetan, the country's largest newspaper, written by HIV-positive South African journalist Lucky Mazibuko; online HIV/AIDS resources; an online discussion board; and an update on developments since filming ended. The site also features comments from Dr. Gene Copello, executive director of Florida AIDS Action and co-chair of the Southern AIDS Coalition; Dr. Harold Jaffe, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention; Matt James, senior vice president for media and public education at the Kaiser Family Foundation and executive director of kaisernetwork.org; and Phill Wilson, director and founder of the Black AIDS Institute (Epstein, "State of Denial," P.O.V., PBS, 9/16). Check local PBS listings for show times.
The film's trailer is available online in RealPlayer.
